Scotch Broth
With pulses, pearl barley, lots of vegetables plus meat, Scotch Broth is a hearty meal in a bowl that tastes even better the next day.
It's also an economical way to stretch a small amount of leftover roast lamb, including the bones to flavour the stock.
If you don't have any lamb bones, use a commercial lamb stock, bring to a simmer and proceed from step 2.
Ingredients
- 75 g green split peas see Recipe Note #1
- 2.25 - 3 litres light lamb or chicken stock see Recipe Note #2
- 1 lamb bone left over from a roast leg or shoulder
- 2 medium onions roughly chopped
- 2 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 100 g pearl barley rinsed
- 75 g red split lentils rinsed
- salt and pepper
- 200 g carrot diced
- 200 g swede or turnip diced
- 1 leek roughly chopped
- 150 g cabbage or kale roughly chopped or shredded
- 200 - 250 g leftover roast lamb roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
The night before making the broth
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Rinse the green split peas in a sieve then put into a bowl. Cover with cold water to a depth at least twice that of the peas.
Leave to soak overnight then drain and refresh under cold running water.
Making the broth
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Put the stock and lamb bone into a large saucepan, put on a lid and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
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Add to the pot the onion, celery, the soaked and drained green split peas, the pearl barley and the red split lentils. Bring back up to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
During this stage take off the heat two or three times while you skim off and discard any impurities from the surface.
-
Take out the bones and discard them.
Add 1 tsp salt and ΒΌ tsp pepper plus the prepared carrot, swede and leeks. Simmer with a lid on until the pulses, barley and vegetables are almost tender (approx. 10 minutes).
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Stir in the shredded greens, the meat, and half the parsley.
Simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are done to your liking.
-
Check the seasoning again and serve with the remaining parsley sprinkled over.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 2 - 3 days or frozen. The barley will continue to soak up liquid, so add a splash or two of water when reheating on the stove or in a microwave.
Recipe Notes
#1 Green Split Peas. Can be substituted with yellow split peas. Whole dried green peas can also be used, although they may need an extra 15 minutes.
#2 Stock. I've given a wide margin for how much stock to use. I like a thick Scotch Broth so use the smaller amount. For a thinner version, either include more stock at the beginning or adjust at the stage of adding the meat.